Texas House District 76 runoff: Candidates compete for Gonzalez support

AUSTIN >> Now that state Rep. Naomi Gonzalez is out of the race for the District 76 seat in the Texas House of Representatives, her challengers are after her endorsement and her voters.

Former state Rep. Norma Chávez and Cesar Blanco are out making their pitches after finishing ahead of Gonzalez in the March 4 Democratic primary.

Blanco led the pack on election night with 3,748 votes — 44 percent of the ballots cast. Chavez was second with 2,496, or 29 percent, of the vote.

It's Gonzalez's 2,335 votes that are the subject of the candidates' ardent interest as they head toward the May 27 runoff.

Gonzalez said Friday she had not decided what she was going to do.

"I'm meeting with my supporters and will do what's in the best interest of the district," she said.

After her defeat last week, Gonzalez said neither had asked for her endorsement.

They seem to be asking now.

"Naomi is a young and talented attorney," Chávez, 53, said. "Throughout this campaign, I never attacked her. Cesar attacked her repeatedly."

She was referring to mailers Blanco sent out criticizing Gonzalez for taking money from a conservative group and citing the fact that the Times endorsed him over Gonzalez and Chávez.

Blanco, 37, said he only criticized Gonzalez about political matters. And now that the primary's over, he wants to meet with her to talk about unfinished business she might have before the Legislature.

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"If we're ever going to get beyond the old B.S. politics, we need to get things done for the district," he said of a House district that runs along the Mexican border between Downtown and Socorro. It's one of the city's poorest.

In 2010, Gonzalez beat Chávez, a 14-year incumbent, in a primary that became bitterly personal. Chávez said that was different.

"It was a polarized race," she said. "Four hundred and eighty thousand dollars was used to attack my record."

This time around, Chávez has presented herself as an older, wiser, mellower candidate whom voters should send back to Austin because she has the seniority and connections to get things done.

She's got her work cut out for her in the runoff.

Chávez finished 15 percentage points behind Blanco and she self-funded her campaign with a loan of $90,000. Blanco, former chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego, raised $218,000 with promises of more money to come.

But the fact that Chávez received 29 percent of the vote without heavy fundraising or any TV commercials shows her strength, Blanco said.

"There's no question that Norma has a base," he said.

The trick now for the candidates is to get their voters — and those who cast ballots for Gonzalez — to show up May 27.

The period between the primary and the runoff was extended to conform to a new federal law that requires more time between the primary and runoff so candidates can reset their campaigns. The candidates have almost three months to reset their campaigns, but they will have to get people to the polls the day after Memorial Day.

Chávez said it's anybody's guess how the timing of the runoff will affect the election. Blanco said he sees the holiday as an extra day to get his message before voters.